KT Wiz outfielder Kang Baek-ho (24) declared himself alive after returning to the first team with a home run.
KT won the 13th game of the season against SSG Landers of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League 16-7 at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on Aug. 8.
Despite giving up five runs in five innings, Lee Je-ho-sung received plenty of run support from the bats and earned his seventh win of the season. After Lee, Lee Sang-dong pitched two innings of two-run ball and Kim Young-hyun pitched two scoreless innings.
Lee said, “The batters hit evenly up and down the lineup. Alford’s game-winning hit and Oh Yoon-seok’s RBI double set the tone for the game, and Kang Baek-ho’s walk-off home run cemented the victory.”
In the bottom of the fifth, the first batter in the order drew a walk and stole second. After Alford and Oh Yoon-seok struck out, pinch-hitter Jang Sung-woo singled to right and Kim Sang-soo and Kim Min-hyuk followed with singles to load the bases.
The bench brought in Kang Baek-ho in place of Shin Bong-ki. After a seven-pitch battle with Park Jong-hoon, Kang hit a grand slam over the right field fence. He took advantage of a 139-kilometer-per-hour fastball.
After the game, Kang Baek-ho said, “I think my hard work paid off,” adding, “I’ve only been back for a few days, but I think I’m a professional athlete when I get results. I think I need to think positively rather than negatively to get good results.”
Kang came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning and hit a grand slam. It was his first home run in 49 days since July 21 against Samsung Electronics. After returning to the first team, he had only played as a pinch hitter and had no hits. His first hit was a grand slam.메이저놀이터
He said, “My condition is the best right now. The timing of the home run was not good, but I was lucky,” he said.
Kang Baek-ho then commented on the situation where he is only playing as a pinch-hitter after returning to the first team, saying, “The main players are doing well right now. I don’t know if I can play. I have to compete. When I came to the first team and saw the lineup, I was surprised and felt like, ‘Where can I fit in?’ All my brothers are good, so all I can say is, ‘This is amazing’. It’s like, ‘This is a really scary team,'” he added.